fandomhigh | Philosophy class #5, Thursday, 2-4pm

Tara looks exhausted. She snaps straight into business, without any of her usual smiles for incoming students.

"Still on free will, folks. The principle of alternate possibilities, also known as the could-have-done-otherwise principle.

"In a nutshell: if I cast a spell on you to make you, oh... hop on one leg - that's not free will, right? It was a spell, not your choice.

"Now that's a trivial example. Let's take a more extreme one. At this moment you are sitting there, not attacking me. I'm very, very grateful for this, by the way, and I urge you all to maintain that state of affairs. However - is that free will? The events of your life and personality have led you to this moment in time. In this moment do you have the ability to make another choice? Or is it so far beyond who you are and what is appropriate in this forum that it is not a choice? What if I cast a spell on you to prevent you from attacking me? Does the fact that you're not still remain your free will, or have I removed that?"

[ooc: And many thanks to Wilson, both for improving my somewhat emo mood, and pointing out that I posted in this the wrongest possible place.]

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Last week I gave you your first out of class assignment. Please leave them on my desk before you leave.

Your task is to have one conversation this week that exists purely in the now. Make no references or assumptions to anything other than that precise moment. What can you communicate in that way? How does it change your processing of the world? Hand in a written report.

Those of you who have not been commenting? I remind you that this class is graded primarily on discussion. If you don't talk, you will fail. I reserve the right not to warn you again.

Sydney hands in her assignment. "One conversation with anyone?" she asks.

Broots handed in a neatly typed essay.

Broots shifted uncomftorably in his chair. "Well, right now, I have the choise to attack you, not that I would. Nothing but morales and conditioning is keeping me in my seat. But if you were to cast a spell on me, I would no longer have a choice in the matter."

Shane chews thoughtfully on the cap of her pen. "I think... a lot of it is my life and personality but... it's society, too. Or...the society... in the world I came from, at least. Violence wasn't a solution, it was a problem. We were always taught that... you do bad things and hurt other people, you have to be punished for that. Or, I guess maybe... the way Professor Tick would say... is... they have to... answer to justice."

"So... if you cast a spell on me... to do something that I know is wrong and that I, personally, wouldn't want to do anyway...?" She trails off, scratching a hand through her hair as she shrugs. "I don't know."

Belthazor approached Tara before class. "Phoebe won't be in class today," he said, handing her the doctor's note. "Or Ethics tomorrow. She's got the flu and she needs to rest."

"Is that a choice? If your morals and your conditioning prevent you from doing it? Or is that an imperative of your life and nature?"

"Thank you for letting me know, Bel," Tara murmurs, not meeting his eyes. "I hope she gets better soon."

"They gave her some medicine, so she should be fine in a few days," Bel said. He cocked his head, looking at Tara. "Something wrong?"

Tara's mouth twists uncomfortably. "Have you heard from him at all?"

"Why do you ask?" Bel asked quietly.

"I... He did it," she replies quietly.

"How do you know?" Bel said calmly.

"There was a witness. And... the pieces fit now. It wasn't about Kitty. It was to get at someone else. It's his style. So I just wanted to know... if he's okay?"

She looks up at Bel, her eyes filled with tears.

"How would I know that?" Bel said, his voice cold.

"Because you dodged the question when I asked before," Tara murmurs, her voice as gentle as Bel's is hard.

Belthazor laughed and looked around. "What, you got a camera going in here? You trying to get me to incriminate myself or something? I'll tell you something." He leaned in closer to Tara and whispered in her ear. "He did it? It doesn't matter to me. Not one bit."

Tara grabs the back of his neck, holding Bel close to her ear. "Bel," she whispers, "I know you don't care. And I don't want you or anyone else to get in trouble. I just need to know if he's safe - and if anyone else is in danger. Please."

"As far as I know he got out of town," Bel said, jerking away from the witch. "Wouldn't want to stick around to be staked or have someone jam a soul into his body, would he?"

Breathing a small sigh of relief, Tara drops her hand to her lap and nods. "Thank you."

"I'll be sure to pass on your concern to him if I see him," Belthazor said. "He'll be touched."

"I'm sure he knows," Tara murmurs. "I've not kept it a secret how important he is."

"Let's just hope more people feel like you, then," Belthazor said. "Lynch mobs with pitchforks and torches might make him feel a little unwelcome."

"His life is more important than mine," Tara says calmly, determination in every line of her face. "I'll stand between him and the mob, if need be."

"That's right," Tara replies calmly. "Did you have any problems?"

[ooc: Sorry, I lost track of this thread!]

Philosophy class #5, Thursday, 2-4pm

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